Exclusive: Nintendo's Doug Bowser on San Francisco Strategy

Nintendo has officially opened its second branded retail location in the United States with the grand opening of Nintendo San Francisco on May 15. Located at 331 Powell Street in the heart of Union Square, the new store joins the ranks of Nintendo NY, which originally launched as the Nintendo World Store and later underwent renovations and rebranding before reopening in 2016 as Nintendo NY.

To get an inside look at what the San Francisco location has to offer, IGN visited the store to explore its unique in-store experiences and exclusive merchandise. Additionally, we had the opportunity to sit down with Doug Bowser, President of Nintendo of America, to discuss the strategic timing behind Nintendo’s first West Coast store launch.

Doug Bowser, President of Nintendo of America, discusses the upcoming Switch 2. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

With the highly anticipated release of the [ttpp]Nintendo Switch 2 set for June 5, we couldn’t resist diving into some of the biggest questions surrounding the next-generation console. We spoke with Bowser about the Switch 2's availability across the U.S. at launch and beyond, the inclusion of Game-Key Cards—a feature that has sparked considerable discussion—and much more. Stay tuned for our full interview and coverage of everything announced at the new Nintendo San Francisco store.